Key Summary
- UK received supplies of favipiravir from Japan over the weekend.
- UKHSA said the risk of spread remains low.
- In Japan, the antiviral medication is called Avigan.
The UK received shipments of favipiravir, an experimental drug to treat hantavirus, from Japan, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported on Monday (18).
The action was prompted by an ongoing hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise liner, which has been identified as the rare Andes virus strain - the only hantavirus known to spread via human-to-human transmission.
While the UKHSA assured the public that the risk of wider transmission in the UK remains very low, health officials noted that the import was an important precautionary measure to bolster emergency treatment stocks.
Neither the UKHSA nor Japanese authorities disclosed details about the number of doses supplied to Britain.
In Japan, favipiravir is manufactured and sold under the brand name Avigan by a subsidiary of Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, where it serves as a strictly regulated emergency stockpile medication for novel or re-emerging influenza pandemics.
The drug works by blocking RNA polymerase, a key enzyme that many RNA viruses require to replicate.
Favipiravir is not licensed for commercial use by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), meaning its clinical deployment against hantavirus would be entirely off-label or on a compassionate-use basis.
Globally, the generic active pharmaceutical ingredient is manufactured across a handful of international hubs, including Japan, India, China, Russia, and Bangladesh.
In India, it is widely produced by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals under the brand name FabiFlu.
The drug previously faced clinical scrutiny and controversy regarding its efficacy and side-effect profile during its widespread experimental use in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health Minister Sharon Hodgson said: “It is great to see countries working together in real, practical ways to protect people’s health. I would like to thank our counterparts in Japan for their supply of these vital medicines, which will support our preparedness and ongoing response to Hantavirus. The UK and Japan share a strong and longstanding relationship, and this contribution is a positive example of how working closely together helps keep people safe from health threats around the world.”
The UK continues to work with international health agencies and governments around the world to understand and respond to the Hantavirus outbreak.
